Peugeot Design Lab has created the identity of the new brand
Pecqueur Conceptuals, framing the brand's universe in a graphic identity, and
designed a concept watch.
Based on the brief conveyed by the Swiss company Noosphaire,
Peugeot Design Lab established the positioning of the Pecqueur Conceptuals
brand, whose "mechanical arts" approach is characterised by the
integration of unprecedented materials and components, which sets new standards
of performance in the world of Haute Horlogerie.
The brand inspiration was Onésiphore Pecqueur, a brilliant
19th Century French craftsman and creator, who between inventing a new form of
arithmetic and regulating processes for mechanical equations, came to design
the first differential gear. A passionate master watchmaker, he is also
considered to be one of the first motor vehicle engineer, whose differential
gear was a key technological innovation for the motor industry. This mechanical
component enabled the driving force to be regulated on the drive wheels,
meaning that vehicles could liberate from straight-line trajectories to follow
new curved trajectories.
As Jean-Philippe Coulaud, Global Managing Partner de
Noosphaire, put it: "Peugeot Design Lab has made a considerable
contribution, since it has enabled us, from the very first development phases
of our project, to refine our approach, helping us define specific codes to
define our brand's territory. This collaboration has enabled us to obtain a
perfect coherence between the image conveyed by the design of our first product
and the messages conveyed by the various brand identity tools."
The signature of the Pecqueur Conceptuals brand,
"Mechanical Arts in Motion", combines aesthetics and technical
innovation with dynamic motion.
Creation of the
Pecqueur Conceptuals logotype:
The regular movement of the stars, which is just as much a
spectacle of beauty as it is the way we first understood time and space,
provided the inspiration for the creation of the Pecqueur Conceptuals brand
logotype.
Based on a graphic fusion between the initials O and P of
Onésiphore Pecqueur, the logotype design hinges on a rotation axis of 17°,
which enables it to remain in perpetual motion. This axis generates a balance
in the proportions and a stability between the monogram and "Pecqueur Conceptuals"
brand.
Creation of the Pecqueur Conceptuals concept watch:
Particular attention was paid to the development of the GMT
complication featured on the concept watch. In watchmaking, a complication is a
function other than the hour, minute and seconds display, which may have an
astronomical, practical or technical application. This GMT complication
simultaneously indicates the home time and a second time zone time on two
dials; splitting of the mechanism is avoided, thanks to its specific differential
gear-based mechanics, which provides the focal point of the watch design.
The new calibre OP 21/1-15, created specifically for this
watch, remains true to the original principle of Pecqueur, with a stepped
rather than flat design, unlike classic watch differential gears. This
innovative architecture is based on angle transmission gears. It offers a
beautiful overhead effect, featuring an elegant plays on depth. It also gives
the watch functional advantages, including reduced friction and energy consumption,
which ensures better autonomy and greater precision.
Peugeot Design Lab’s objective was to highlight the
distinctive personality of the Pecqueur Conceptuals brand, a sensual elegance
enhanced by innovative and subtle details, through the combined design of the
dial and case of this concept watch. To outline the volumes and create a
perfect harmony between the various watch displays, Peugeot Design Lab worked
in close collaboration with the design department of the watchmaking
manufacture LTM ("Le Temps Manufacture"), based in Fleurier,
Switzerland.
The stratified architecture creates subtle plays on depth. The various display dials give the dynamic impression of being gears meshed together, reinforcing the effect of motion.
A masterpiece of the design, the differential bridge, in a
nod to the Eiffel Tower, overlaps the local time dial. It overhangs the
recessed space housing the mechanical heart of the watch, the differential
gear, magnified by a copper-based coating. This bridge invites you to dive into
the heart of the mechanical revolution of the GMT complication.
The watch's case sculpted, elegant and subtle features give
the the watch a finer and lighter outline. The fluid and sensual design of the
case components is animated by subtle material effects, featuring play between
brushed, polished, and satin-finished metal. The dial features "Côtes de
Genève", a decoration based on undulating lines with a gentle relief which
places the watch carefully within the codes of Haute Horlogerie.
According to the drawings provided by Peugeot Design Lab,
"Les Artisans Boîtiers S.A", a company based in La Chaux-de-Fonds in
the Swiss Jura region, designed the watch case, and enabled LTM to assemble the
first two prototypes of this new piece.
